The Unofficial Blogger of the Chicago Cubs in Canada

Anthony Rizzo Delivers and could Starlin Castro Be On The Move?

Now that’s the Cubs team of the year. Things looked a little rocky in the early goings but the Cubs came right back and defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 5-2 to take the series opener.

Anthony Rizzo delivered a three run homer in the eighth to prove why he sort of wears the team captaincy on his shirt.

“The whole night, it wasn’t going our way, but I liked the way we were playing,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. “Eventually, Riz steps up and does what he can do.”

Baseball sure is a funny game. The win takes the Cubs into the last day of the trade deadline. What does everyone think of the David Price deal to Toronto? Nobody saw that coming but the noise north of the border sure is loud about a potential World Series appearance. Of course, my dream would be to have a Cubs/Jays matchup. I tell you, that would be one heck of a party and the allegiance would be fierce. Which brings me to Starlin Castro.

Joe Maddon has gone on record to say that Starlin isn’t going anywhere, but the shortstop has been pulled from a game recently and he’s not having a good season. He’s a talented kid who needs a change of scenery.

“What I said the other day, I meant it,” Maddon said. “He was not going to be traded. I have no idea if that’s going to happen. You never know — if somebody just blows [president of baseball operations] Theo [Epstein] away, obviously you’ve got to do something like that. As of that particular moment, every piece of information I’ve received, he’s not being traded.”

Aye, there’s the rub. Maddon has said he hasn’t been traded but Theo Epstein hasn’t said that he’s not going to be traded. They could go after James Shields or Tyson Ross. It’s no secret that the Cubs need to plug that hole in the rotation. Addison Russell could play shortstop.

“It wouldn’t completely surprise me if they made a move or didn’t make a move,” Jake Arrieta said. “I think we can win with what we have here. We’ve got the pieces. We showed we can do it in stretches. If they decide to make a move, I’m sure they’ll make a move that benefits our club.”